Although a kingpin type steering system is a rugged design that is used on heavy trucks such as semi-tractor trailers, the upper and lower spindle bores are susceptible to wear and may become obround or oversized. Distortion of the spindle bores may cause the steering system to develop unwanted play resulting in loss of steering control and difficulty maintaining wheel alignment.
Spindle bores may be repaired by machining both the upper and lower bores to accommodate oversized bushings. However, traditional spindle repair techniques entail disassembling the spindle from the vehicle and sending the spindle away to a machine shop, or machining the spindle in house. At the machine shop, the spindle is mounted in a conventional mill. In order to ensure proper alignment between the spindle bores and the mill, it is necessary to index both the upper and lower bores and adjust the spindle's position so that it is mounted accurately. Properly indexing a spindle on a mill requires specialized personnel and equipment. This traditional approach is both expensive and time consuming, especially when considering the time necessary to ship or transport the spindle to a machine shop.
Accordingly, there is a need for a steering spindle repair kit and methods that allow for spindle repair in the field. There is a further need for a repair kit that allows for proper alignment with the spindle bores without specialized personnel and equipment.